Christiano’s

What s delightful find! I’ve never written a review, but had to share. We had an excellent meal! The marinara sauce was outstanding! The mahi and grouper entrees were unique and sooo good! The quality of the ingredients was evident in the flavor of the food. The chef combined his authentic Italian cooking background with culinary experience to provide the best meal we had in this area. The service was also top notch, every interaction, with the staff and owners was accommodating and friendly, as if we were guests in their home.

What just happened? I’ll tell you what happened. I drove off of 30a and down 98 to eat at a 4.5 star Unilocal-​rated restaurant serving up pasta that tastes like Stouffer’s. No seriously, the dish we had tasted exactly like Stouffer’s White Lasagna. And that’s not a compliment. Unilocal doesn’t seem to be as popular along the Gulf Coast as it is in Nashville and it seems like the few restaurants that have great Unilocal reviews are suspiciously bad.
This restaurant would probably taste great if you like places like O’Charleys and Chilis, but if you’ve been spoiled by any of the gastronomic delights sprinkled along 30a, you are going to be disappointed. I ordered the lasagna, safe bet right? Sure it’s huge, More than enough for day’s worth of leftovers, but who wants to eat leftovers of a dish they didn’t enjoy the first time? The server looked shocked when I declined a box. The lasagna has very thick, white noodle, exactly like the noodles Stouffer’s uses in their lasagna. And they were also overcooked, exactly like you would find with a pre-​frozen lasagna. Then the dish is loaded with fennel, so much that it’s overpowering. The sauce. The sauce… I can’t explain the taste, but it doesn’t taste like a tomato sauce at all. It tastes sort of like beef broth flavored by bay leaves and water. However, my meal was the «winner» compared to my husband’s Shrimp Tuscana. It was inedible and it was the dish that tasted like the White Lasagna, only with a different noodle. Of the 25 meals we’ve eaten in the area this month, this was the worst.
On the bright side, I’m leaving two stars because our service was good. Though our server didn’t ask us why we didn’t eat our meals nor did she ask why we refused boxes for the heaping mounds of potential leftovers, she was cheerful and punctual.

Great food and great service. We actually enjoyed it enough to go twice. The first time we had the lamb chops and I thought they were some of the best that I have ever had. The wife got seafood pastas on both visits. The spicy seafood pasta was really good but the clam pasta was even better. I had the lasagna on the second visit. It was really good, though I must admit that I don’t care for a lot of ricotta cheese (I know it is a traditional ingredient). On the child’s menu the spaghetti was really popular with our daughter. The other thing is the waitress was very efficient and friendly.
Very nice counter to some of the very pricey options on 30-​A.

If your tired of the typical «beach food», check this place out. Best Italian I have had. I believe my family ordered a little bit of everything and nothing disappointed, and we are all HUGE foodie people. The lamb was to die for. The owner came out and introduced himself and was super personable. You feel like you’re in a little restaurant in Italy while dining here.

This restaurant came up as Unilocal’s highest rated in the area. Good call. The sauces are perfected, the seasonings are fresh, and the dishes are delicious. We had a tasty cheese pizza appetizer. My chicken parm only guy devoured his dish, saying it was a bit different but delicious. I had spaghetti and clams that had a beautiful blend of seasonings in it. They’ve got a fine tuned, well honed place here. Going back.

My family and I had a great dining experience at Christianos. The food was excellent. The service was great, and the prices were very reasonable.

Friendly service. House Salad not good but Caesar better. Not good at all ranch dressing. Bread mediocre and oil for bread bland. Mushroom ravioli appetizer good. Husband liked meatballs. Pasta with white clam sauce good but not great. Wouldn’t go back unless dying for some Italian and no other options. Not sure why such a high rating on Unilocal

TERRIBLE! That’s an understatement. I went here (4÷4÷16 @ 8pm) based off of the 5 star reviews. The food was so horrible that I’m considering giving up Italian food for good.
I ordered the eggplant parmesean. It was very thinly sliced and soaked in oil. It had an odd and bland taste. I ate about ¼th of the meal just so that I didn’t leave starving.
My kids ordered the kids pizza and it had caked flour on the bottom of the pizza. They had flour all over their faces, clothes, and hands as though they’d been in the kitchen rolling the dough themselves.
And Sweet tea was brown sugar water.
Can’t believe this place got 5 stars. If you can’t count on Unilocal to tell it like it is, then what else is there?
GROSS!!! x10

Our first time in Destin and we were pleasantly surprised by this restaurant. The prices were great and the chef/​owner came out to see how our appetizers were. We raved about the escargot ap and he followed up by delivering our main meal. We will definitely be back next time we are In destine. PS. I had chicken parm and my husband had egg parm. Both were excellent!!!

Great restaurant off the beaten path. Service was wonderful, food was delicious. Authentic Italian cuisine.

For starters, this place was exceptional. My youngest kid ordered a cheese pizza which looked very good and he loved it! I got the pasta with marinara sauce which was absolutely divine and my wife got the manicotti and she loved it! Our waitress was very helpful and kind; it was a good experience and a great place for family.

By far the best Italian in Destin/​Santa Rosa beach! It is an upscale restaurant that doesn’t overcharge. Great size portions and awesome atmosphere.

My husband and I recently had the pleasure of dining at Christiano’s for the first time.
The restaurant is located in a strip shopping center on Highway-​98, just past 30-​A. The atmosphere is warm and inviting, the staff is gracious, efficient, and friendly, the music is «old school» Italian that warms the soul, and the food is awesome!
The bread is crusty on the outside, moist and tender on the inside, and the dipping oil is nicely seasoned and delicious. We had the mushroom ravioli appetizer, which is three large mushroom raviolis topped with a creamy tomato sauce. I was concerned that the tomato-​based sauce might over power the delicate mushroom flavor, but in fact the sauce was light and creamy, and was so good that I mopped up the rest with bread.
My husband had the veal marsala, which he enjoyed, but I was the «winner» with the lasagna! It was a huge portion, perfectly balanced with pasta, cheese, and meat, with what might be the best Italian sauce I’ve ever eaten.
After we’d finished eating (and half of my lasagna boxed for later!), we asked which of their desserts were house-​made, and selected the carrot cake to take home. As we were waiting, two women entered our small section of the restaurant to look at the art on the wall. One woman was explaining that she had painted that art, which was large, arched Italian scenes. We introduced ourselves, and then Rosalie explained that she not only painted a good deal of the art in the restaurant, she also bakes desserts for the restaurant (including our carrot cake), *and* plays the piano on Fridays! What a multi-​talented and inspirational woman! And I can tell you this… that carrot cake is fabulous!

My wife and I went to Christiano’s based on the rating and reviews on Unilocal.We could not have been more pleased. From the receptionist to the wait staff to the food it was five star. The Greek salad that we split was outstanding. The grouper Elizabeth was changed to red snapper Elizabeth and it was as good as I have ever had. I highly recommend that you try this place, we will be going back often.
Tom S.

My five star rating is for Miramar Beach not the world. The best Italian food is in New York but this place is really good for this area. Mushroom Ravioli good and sauce great. Lasagna GREAT and huge. Veal Marsala ok. Service very nice, music nice and décor nice. The home made deserts were to die for. I met the woman who mad them. I live in the area and will be back.

Exceptional all the way around. The service is wonderful and the quality of food and preparation by the chef is a rare find.

From the warm hostess from the front to the informative waitress (aka boss’ wife), my gf and I had such an amazing experience here at this Italian restaurant. New to the area, Unilocaled this place, took and über here from our hotel, heard great things from our über about this restaurant, and had the best experience ever. The free bread was fresh out of the oven and the home made oil for dipping was so delicious.
We had the calamari which had just enough batter and did not have a fishy taste at all.
Her shrimp fettuccini was super creamy but very light in taste, didn’t feel heavy at all.
My chicken tortellini was just perfect. I highly recommend this restaurant to everyone!

The lasagna is huge and delicious! The ribeye is honestly the very best we’ve ever eaten! Will defiantly come back here for the steak!

In the last minute, with extended family in town, we went searching for a place to seat 12 for dinner. Was referred to Christiano’s — and it couldn’t have gone better.
The wine list was of interest without overly expensive — went with a Rioja and then a Bordeaux —
All our meals were well prepared, well executed and in particular my special of the night, the whole fish, was not over cooked, was not over fried (like everything down south) & the dessert even more surprisingly good.
We had 6 other dinners at various restaurants while visiting the 30A area… And this one will be one we for sure return to.
PS: Christiano (Chef & Owner) came out for an introduction and to make sure everything was prepared to our liking. I found that to be a very nice, classy but almost unexpected and unnecessary touch for what seemed like a strip mall Italian restaurant. Truly this is a restaurant that is more than what it may look like from the outside.

Absolutely an AMAZING experience. If you’re considering going DO. Service, atmosphere, food, and prices all fantastic. CThis may be the best customer service I’ve ever experienced. Genuine, curious, funny, and friendly. Food exquisite and fast as well priced. Atmosphere is intimate n quite with lovely jazz music. Many small rooms sectioned off so you don’t ever feel the crowd.
Overall a wonderful experience!